HomeMy WebLinkAboutFarewell, BenwellFAREWELL,BENWELLTHE FREDERICK C. BENWELL MURDER CASE
On the 21 of February 1890, two
brothers, namely George and Joseph
Eldridge, found a dead body, later
identified to be Frederick C. Benwell,
an englishman. Murderer was soon
known to be Reginald Birchall, who
was later sentenced to death via
hanging on the 19 of November 1890,
at the Woodstock jail yard.
st
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ONE OF THE MOST DIABOLICAL CRIMES PERPRETRATED EVER IN CANADA
B e n w e l l ,
B i r c h a l l ,
F R E D E R I C K
R e g in a l d
Vic tim. Went to Ca nada from England in the purpose of investing in
some farmland, which never existed. He and Birch all , on t hei r way
to the said farmla nd, went through the Blen hei m S wamp ( now
k nown as Benwe ll Swamp ), and got murdered by Birchall with
gun shots.
Mu rdere r. A w ea lt hy man, f raud, and a murderer.
Lur ed Benwel l into the B le n heim Swamp ( n ow
k n own as Benwe ll Swamp ) as a way o f ge tting to
t he promi sed fa rmland, but ended up killing
Benwel l. Ended up ta king th e m u rdere d’s
poss essions af ter.
M u r d e r e d b y / M u r d e r e d
M u r d e r a t t h e s w a m p
(R I g h t , B i r c h a l l . L e f t , B e n w e l l . )
Bleinhe im ( Be nwe ll ) Swamp
E l d r i g e G EO R G E
Along with his brother, George
Eldrige, went to find saplings in the
swamp. They discovered the dead
body of Benwell, which started the
investigation about the murder.
F o u n d t h e b o d y
Dead bod
y left at
O n e o f C a n a d a ’s
M o s t F a m o u s
C a s e s
The case is one of the most popular
cases in Canadian history due to:
it defied stereotypes. Back in the victorian era,
murderers were usually from the desperate lower
classes. Both Benwell and Birchall are wealthy
upperclass men and well educated.
Birchall’s scheme of luring young men overseas,
stealing their money, and killing them questioned
the credibility of Canada’s immigration policies
The news spread all over the world with the newly
laid transatlantic telerhraph lines.
Early forensic technology was used to solve the case
by Detective Murray.
Want to know more about the case?Check these out!
https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/flashbacks-
hamilton/fraud-murder-and-a-bungled-hanging-the-
gruesome-1890-birchall-case/article_87ad0b81-b088-50b7-
b99b-568133b6cd58.html
https://www.tvo.org/article/old-never-let-go-the-mostly-
true-story-of-ontarios-first-detective
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/john-reginald-
birchall
Birchall: The Story of His Life by Reginald Birchall
( Can be found at the Oxford County Archives )